Ara Macao Resort & Marina News from Placencia Belize

UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

27 June 2007:  A phone call was received today from an independent contractor employed by Ara Macao asking (demanding?) that the historical information on this Website about Ara Macao be taken down because it is "misleading and inflammatory."  I have reviewed the information presented here, and all of it reports events as they occurred during the Ara Macao EIA approval process.  This entire process was a very significant one for the Placencia Peninsula and surrounding areas.  It occupied public debate for over an entire year, it brought Peninsula communities and people together, and ultimately has made everyone on the Peninsula much more aware of environmental and development issues.  It also raised issues that continue to need to be answered, such as the capacity and recharge rate of the aquifer that provides water to the people of the Peninsula.  For these reasons alone, the information provided here is important for the Peninsula, historically, environmentally, sociologically and economically. 

1 June 2007:  Justice Awich of the Belize Supreme Court denied PCSD's application to proceed with judicial review of the approval of Ara Macao by the Belize Department of the Environment.  Justice Awich also assessed legal costs against PCSD.  PCSD did not have the funds to appeal Justice Awich's ruling, although PCSD does believe that Justice Awich's ruling was in error.  A copy of the judicial decision will be made available when a digital copy can be obtained.

2 April 2007:  On Monday, 2 April 2007, the Peninsula Citizens for Sustainable Development (PCSD) filed a lawsuit asking the Belize Supreme Court to overturn the decision of the Belize Department of the Environment (DOE) approving the Ara Macao Resort and Marina development at the northern end of the Placencia Peninsula. PCSD also asked the court to grant an injunction to prevent Ara Macao Development Ltd. from proceeding with the development.

PCSD’s suit is based, in part, on DOE’s failure to comply with Belize’s environmental regulations.

PCSD also maintains that DOE unreasonably and irrationally approved the development because it did not have critical information about environmental issues such as downstream beach erosion, effect of the development on the Peninsula’s marine environment (such as lobster, conch and coral reefs), and whether Ara Macao and other new developments could quickly use up the water supply that provides Placencia, Seine Bight, Maya Beach, Independence and Big Creek with drinking water.

PCSD also argues that DOE’s approval failed to protect the public’s access and use of the 66’ public reserve on the beach surrounding the development, and that the development violates zoning for the area under the Mango Creek/Placencia Special Development Area, as recognized by Belize law.

A court date has been set for 20 April 2007 for judicial consideration of PCSD’s claim.

Donations to the Ara Macao litigation fund may be made by depositing funds into the PCSD account at Atlantic Bank, account number 100158838.

Donations may also be made by check made payable to the Peninsula Citizens for Sustainable Development, General Delivery, Placencia, Belize.

Money may also be wire transferred to PCSD, using the following wiring instructions:

Bank of New York
36-63 Main Street
New York, New York 11354
ABA#: 021000018

For credit to Atlantic Bank
Swift Code: IRVTUS3N
Atlantic Bank Account No: 8900545925

For further credit to
Peninsula Citizens for Sustainable Development, Atlantic Bank Account no. 100158838

Please note that if wiring from the US, this is NOT an international wire.  The funds are wired to Bank of New York which, in turn, transfers them to PCSD in Placencia.

The Peninsula Citizens for Sustainable Development is a Belize non-profit corporation and grass roots community organization of Placencia Peninsula residents concerned with the rapid, and often poorly planned and executed, development of the Peninsula. PCSD seeks to bring information about proposed developments to Peninsula residents to ensure that all developments are environmentally sustainable with respect to the fragile eco-systems of the Peninsula and its communities and cultures.

Please contact PCSD at 610-4718 or info@placenciadocuments.info for further information.

A Construction Worker Speaks

Dear Editor,

This is my first letter to any newspaper, so please be patience with me. I’m from a village in the Orange Walk district and have been down recently working on the Placencia area. I’ve worked at the different building sites in the north area, were they say the jobs are good. They are not!

I worked at one where you work from 6am to 6pm if you’re lucky, for 10 days straight at a time.
The food is very little and you have to pay for it, beans, bread and sometimes egg or small piece of meat. The job site didn’t have enough toilets for the workers, so we had to use the beach were the sandflies are really bad. The pay was ok at first then it wasn’t. You go down to the bank only to learn the money won’t come in until tomorrow. A day for me missed traveling to see my family in Orange Walk.

I’m writing because as a labourer I’d like to share my mind on how things are happening in that area.

I see the big resorts taking over from everybody. Look at all the old places down there, they want to sell, they know what is coming. In Maya Beach alone they have 3 resorts for sale, Green parrot, Maya breeze & Singing Sands. The tourists don’t want to stay there, they have dust from the road, noise from dump trucks, nasty water from the wells they use. They can’t make it better as they have no more land to build. The water is nasty from the well because the places are too small and they use the same land for sewer soak aways and wash waters.

People maybe one time had to stay in these small places, but no more. They can go to places like Roberts Grove, the Placencia and soon maybe to be Ara Macao.

I know people are saying the Ara Macao will not happen, but the owners say it will. If it does people like me will only get jobs to build if we’re lucky. The pay is small, work is long and hard and Belize is too expensive to live in this area. I go to a local shop in Maya beach and I pay for beef ribs $12 a pound, $2.50 for chicken everything is too high, but I have no choice. Stay at the
job site eat small and poorly or try and rent a room somewhere and cook myself.

So I know what people are saying and I don’t know which is true. I do know that this Ara Macao will not give me a good paying job once built, they need more educated people than myself, just high school. They want professional people and they don’t have to train they say they can bring in people from Jamaica and other Caribbean countries where the people are already trained for casino and golf course work. They told me the agreement is called sometime like Free movement of Labour.

So I already know I can only work the building jobs and when they are finished I can go home.
But what of the people making a living there? What will happen when all the small resorts are gone? The people now want swimming pools, golf, tennis and all the small places will loose. Even Roberts Grove and the Placencia will loose because they will be too small too compared to Ara Macao.


Please don’t tell my name as I need my job.
Thanks.

The Development Con Game Continues

by Alfred Ramirez, Seine Bight Village

The Placencia Peninsula has now become a development attraction & every gringo who can access development funds in the millions & has or can develop (buy) a political connection quickly is in the development craze.

And it is always under the guise of creating employment & a better life for the natives.

Invariably the prospective developer approaches the local politician in this way:   Check the Local Rep. First, invite him to /for a few expensive dinners/drinks at a much recognized & popular resort, let him order the most expensive food & drinks & sweet talk him about how smart he is & how much you are impressed by his love for his constituents. Simultaneously you show him a colorful brochure & a quick plan for your proposed development. Emphasize that this will benefit him & his people financially & Show your appreciation for his company by offering him a gift for his wife or girlfriend & slip him an envelope filled with $100 under the table. Arrange a few more meeting with a promise of more financial benefits if he is able to convince his colleagues in the house about the perceived benefits of the development.

Naturally you must not mention any possible negative impacts the development will have on the social, environmental & economic fabric of the community.

Ensure that you have a local who is unscrupulous, but does have political connections & can influence &/or pay off any local leader who may have or see a serious problem with your development. Finally keep the free bees flowing to your slickered Rep. Hotel, travel, gifts & the BLUE notes & promise of more to come when the development is complete.

BUT DO NOT COMITT ANYTHING TO WRITING.

Such is the game that developers play in Belize. And the Ara Macao development that has been proposed for the Placencia Peninsula is only one of the many that we will see being proposed & pushed to its completion despite the numerous negatives that are sure to result from such a huge project.

Typical of such developments on the Peninsula & indeed across Belize is the presentation of EIA’s - usually prepared by well connected locals – which is generally filled with technical & unrealistic plans which the average citizen has no time to read & often times do not understand. Take the case of the Ara Macao EIA & others thicker than a telephone directory, filled with technical drawings & terms, which we on the Peninsula don’t have, time to read & barely understand. Indeed 90% of the EIA is gibberish attempting to convince the citizens of the Peninsula how well thought out the project is & how everything is being done to ensure that it will only have positive impacts on the surrounding environment.

After my review of the so-called EIA, I realize from experience that: 1) there are some very serious issues which the developer has not addressed or refuses to address. 2) The Department of the Environment, whatever they call themselves now need to revisit this EIA with a need to ask the developers a range of hard questions related to the serious impact this project will have on the Peninsula in the short & long term. And to put in place a company package to compensate the residents of the Peninsula for any run away negative impact the proposed development will clearly have. 3) The development needs to be downsized considerably. The Placencia Peninsula’s capacity for large sized developments is limited. 4) Somebody or an important government agency is hand in gloves with the developers of this project. Our representative & others seem to be committed to see this project through believing it will be a feather in his cap come next general election. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth my boy.

Alfred Ramirez

PS.   Have you visited the Placencia Peninsula lately? From Riversdale, through Maya Beach, Seine Bight & Point Placencia are huge developments- you’ll see mangroves being cut, canals dug, beachfront eroding, all in the name of development. JOBS, JOBS, JOBS, but stop & take a look at who the workers are & find out how this is impacting the settlements on the Peninsula & Seine Bight in particular. Hey Media people take a trip & do a survey or just look around & see for yourself who is benefiting & why.

Pending Eco-Disaster in Belize

President May 11, 2006
Seven Seas Crusing Association (SSCA)
Fort Lauderdale, FL

I am the voluntary Station Representative of SSCA for Placencia Village, Belize, Central America, and would like to report a situation in this area which may be of interest to the Association’s members. I have lived in the area for over four years, and been a resident of Belize for over 12 years.

The situation which I wish to bring to your attention is directly opposed to SSCA’s goal of treasuring our environment, and I feel is directly of concern to most sailors. A very large marina and golf course, with related housing developments, is being proposed for the Placencia Peninsula, an environmentally sensitive area. Contrary to the expressed concerns of local residents and fishermen, foreign developers are planning to dredge a large marina, construct an 18 hole golf course, and build houses and other structures for a projected population of over 10,000 people.

This is being proposed on a narrow peninsula, already experiencing the pains of too much development. Local residences and others are concerned about the negative impact of dredging on silting over of our unique coral reef, loss of breeding areas for marine life and birds, and other irreversible actions. The structures being proposed to protect boats in the marina from wave action will in turn trap sand and ruin the beach for which Placencia is famous, and for which tourism here is dependent. Our roads and other facilities have already experienced the impact of too much development for the present population of about 1,000 people. The planned 10,000 plus development will be devastating, especially in light of an increase in tropical storms lately.

A final concern for our sailing membership will be the recent plans and actions of the Mexican government to build marinas on both the west and east coasts of that country in order to attract sailors. Why should a developer be allowed to devastate the pristine aquatic environment and economy of a small country when major marine facilities can be found in the Rio Dulce area in Guatemala, and in Mexico. I hope you will take an interest in both investigating the concerns on which I am reporting, and informing our substantial sailing membership about this devastating development. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at sailbelize@yahoo.com if you would like additional information.

Respectfully,

Jack Linker, LCDR USNR-R

cc: Glenn Eiley, Chairman, Placencia Village Council; Other concerned residents

Keep the Jewel a Jewel

Dept. Of Environment
10/12 Ambergris Ave.
Belmopan, Belize

Re: Proposed Ara Macao Development

Dear Sirs,

As a resident of Placencia Village I write with great concern over the proposed Ara Macao Development. While I am greatly aware and upset over the environmental impact this development will have on our peninsula and surrounding waters, I’m even more troubled by the effects this will have on the people and lifestlyle of the peninsula.

I have lived in Placencia for 15 years after marrying a native Placencian. My daughter is a Placencia native to the core and I expect that she will remain to raise her family here as her family has for generations before her.

I cringe at the idea that our pristine peninsula will be developed to look like any other big development around the world. Cancun, Miami, any Caribbean island….Why would Belize, with all it’s natural beauty and growing tourism trade, want to throw away what uniqueness it has and allow a huge development like Ara Macao? The Belizean Government and developers are killing the goose that laid the golden egg. People come to Placencia, to Belize as a whole, for the unique atmosphere that cannot be found in any other place on earth. The mix of cultures, the natural beauty, our small hotels - these qualities give Belize an exclusive market. If we build it to imitate Cancun all we are doing is sharing business with every other Caribbean resort town, instead of keeping our already captive audience.

There are many people here in Placencia who have invested their savings into small family run businesses (and even resorts the size of Roberts Grove are included in this) and if developments like Ara Macao are the future and this is the type of clientele Belize is attracting, our local businesses will go under. The people coming to our businesses will not want to come to mingle with the “Cancun” type.

Belize seems to be determined to build a society of employees. As I see it, Belizeans will all be working for the foreign investors in 10 years. While now, so many Belizean entrepreneurs are running their own businesses and making a good living. Every developer promises jobs, but what they don’t realize is that there are more jobs than workers right now on the peninsula and those of us who own our own businesses don’t want to be hired by a foreigner. We have jobs that probably won’t exist once large developments come in.

I worry not only for my lifestyle or for the future of my daughters’ lifestyle, but for the country as a whole. The Government of Belize needs to start taking a good look at long term effects of this type of development. While it looks good on paper and for the budget of Belize in the short term, it does not bode well for the people of Belize in the long term.

While we need development, we need to temper that development to some degree to keep Belize the jewel that it is.

Yours Truly,

Deborah Vernon

cc: Hon. John Briceno

All photographs courtesy of Juan Caducio of Placencia Village.